Do floating or sinking fish lights really help to catch Crappie after dark?

Do floating or sinking fishing lights really help catch crappie after dark? Indeed they do! It seems like all fish are drawn to light after dark.

In fact there is a company called Hydro Glow who markets a green flourecent light for fishing purposes in both fresh water and salt water. They got the idea when they noticed that scuba divers use green light emitting chemical sticks at night to attract fish. They have reported that the first  the first swordfish ever to have been taken by a fly fisherman happened by using one of their green lights at night off the Florida coast.

Is green really the best color? Sometimes green does the trick but at other times white or blue light work best.

So why does light attract fish at night? It sounds like magic but it’s not - it’s simple science. Fishermen used to think that the light attracted bugs and fish eat bugs so, here they come!

That is close to the truth but not quite. Light first attracts the microscopic critters that minnows eat. The minnows come after them and then the crappie come after the minnows and then, you guessed it - the fishermen come after the crappie!

How much light is enough? There is no definitive answer to that except, it depends. Some nights a lot will be better and other nights less will bring them to you. You just have to experiment.

The important thing to keep in mind is that you have to be sure you are attracting the bait fish or the target crappie are going to be less likely to show up.

Tags: crappie fishing in ohio, crappie fishing in texas, crappie fish, fishing for crappie, crappie fly fishing, night crappie fishing